If you love horses and cannot do without riding sometimes, then you can also consider turning your hobby into a lucrative enterprise. If you like to be around horses or you like to take care of foals and horses, you can build a horse-breeding business or a ranch and make quite a bit of money. What does the horse-breeding business really mean?
A horse breeding business is about training foals until they mature and become horses for sale. Some of the ways you make money here is by buying foals, training them to maturity and then selling them to people. A fully mature horse is quite expensive; some people sell up to $10,000 or more if it is a racehorse.
Some of the ways to make good money from your horse breeding business include the following: renting horses after they have been trained as racehorses in your breed. Also, you can make money by renting out horses to professional riders.
Some horse owners may not have the space and time to train their personal horses and will not mind paying for a ranch to care for them. Your ranch may charge horse owners weekly or monthly for the care of the horses.
How can you start your own horse breeding business? Here is a horse breeding business plan and the necessary steps.
A horse breeding Business plan
1. Garner Experience
You don’t need special training to start a horse training business, but the experience of how to take care of the horses is very important. The best way to get such experience is to work with an intern at a ranch; he will help you acquire all the necessary knowledge to run your own ranch.
2. Source for Capital
A horse breeding business is a capital intensive business, as you need money to buy or lease a large piece of land for your ranch. You need capital to buy the foals, and they are not cheap, as well as equipment to maintain the ranch. The best way to raise capital to build a ranch is through a loan from the bank or an angel investor.
Keep in mind that the profits do not start coming in as soon as you start the business because it takes a few years for the foals to grow into adult horses. Therefore, you need to come to a payment agreement that will give you enough time to pay.
3. Renting a land space
You need enough space to be able to run this business; the horses must be at least 1,000 square meters away from each other and there must also be enough space to train the horses. Therefore, look for good pasture land that will serve as a ranch.
If you can build outside the property, the better; if not, you have to make sure to make a long term agreement with the owner. You can consider the following when looking for a space; weather conditions, water source, and a ranch site that is free of dangerous animals that could be harmful to horses
4. Construction of the Ranch
Then, you have chosen the perfect place for your ranch, it is time to build the ranch. You can employ the services of a building construction company to manage the project. Remember that the fence should be high enough to prevent the horses from wandering off, or an authorized person from coming to take it away, while the stables should be warm enough to keep the horses warm during cold nights and also well ventilated.
5. Buy all the necessary equipment
When your ranch is ready, you need to purchase the necessary equipment to care for the horses before you buy them. They include; buckets, shovel, shovel and horse fodder. Source for suppliers who can supply you with fodder in bulk quantities as needed because horses eat a lot. Also, arrange for horse supplements to be added to the fodder.
6. Employers Workers
Additional hands are needed to help run the ranch; some will clean the stables or stalls, some will take the horses out daily for training, and others for feeding. Horses need to be cared for sufficiently, so experience working on previous ranches will be an added bonus for your business.
7. Buying Colts
It is advisable that you go with a veterinarian to check the foals to make sure they are free of disease and that they are of the best species. Order the number of foals you need to initially manage the ranch and remember to ask for the type of horses that are popular and on demand in your area before making your purchase.
8. Hire a Veterinary Doctor
You should hire a veterinarian to take care of the horses when they develop any kind of illness or for check-ups. Horses are prone to illness in their early stages of maturity, and the service of a veterinarian is very helpful.
9. Advertise your Ranch:
Some of the ways to advertise your ranch include:
Horse Racing Events: Some of the best places to advertise your business include: printing flyers announcing your ranch and sharing it at horse racing events. Tell people about your business and use the Internet. Because such an event is for horse lovers; you are likely to find some people who are in need of a place to buy good horses.
Local Business Newspapers: You can also advertise your ranch in the local newspapers to help you get targeted traffic.